As Amended March 26, 2013&nbsp&nbsp

Constitution and Bylaws

Article I

Section 1
The legal name of this corporation shall be the “Mississippi Bow Hunters Association, Inc.” hereto referred to as the “Association” within the bylaws. The corporation shall also be known as the “Mississippi Bowhunters Association” for promotional and related purposes.

Section 2
The transaction of Association business shall be located at such places as the members may from time to time determine.

Article II
The purpose of the “Mississippi Bow Hunters Association” is: (1) to foster, expand, and perpetuate the practice of hunting with bow and arrow in the state of Mississippi, 2) encourage the use of bow and arrow in hunting of all legal game and predators, and (3) to improve and increase the privileges of the bow and arrow hunter. For the purposes of Article II, a bow and arrow is defined as a compound, recurve, or longbow that is hand held and has no mechanical device to enable the hunter to lock the bow at full or partial draw. While the Association supports an individual’s choice of any legal weapon, the Association’s efforts as defined in sections (1), (2), and (3) shall be limited to the bow and arrow. The crossbow shall not be considered a bow and arrow.

Article IIISection 1
The Association, being a non-profit organization, shall not issue, and no member shall receive any distribution of dividends.

Section 2
If the Association should dissolve the Corporation; assets, cash on hand, and any other properties shall be donated to the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, Inc. The action of dissolving the Corporation must be approved by no less than two thirds vote cast of the membership, after having been notified in writing, no less than ten (10) days prior to the effective date of said vote.

Article IV

Membership

There shall be four (4) classes of individual memberships:
Regular, Life, Honorary Life, and Associate: (a) Regular Membership will be available to anyone upon application and payment of dues. (b) Life Membership will be available to anyone upon application and payment of an amount determined by the Association’s Board of Directors. (c) Honorary Life Membership, with the exemption from regular dues, this membership may be granted for exceptional merit and service upon recommendation and approval of the Association’s Board of Directors at any quarterly meeting. (d) Associate Membership will be available to any family member residing in the same household of a regular of Life Member, and shall receive the same benefits as the regular or Life Member, with the exception of periodic mailings including newsletters. This membership shall be available upon application and payment of dues.

Article V

Board of Directors

Section 1

The Association shall be headed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Membership Coordination Director, Life Membership Director, News Director, (Editor) and Immediate Past President. The Board of Directors shall be empowered to (1) make decisions on behalf of the Association required for its operation and (2) create committees and name chairman of these committees, and (3) develop activities and projects for the Association deemed to be within the scope of Article II.

Any member of the Board of Directors, Area Director, Committee Chairperson, or member of any status, shall be removed from their position and (or) membership by a simple majority vote of the Board of Directors (or the majority of all votes if voting privileges are extended to the Area Directors) if their conduct or service is deemed detrimental to the organization.

The Board may also authorize and set forth guidelines for the creation of Chapters and Affiliation with clubs and organizations that mirror the Associations purpose as set forth in Article II.

The Board of Directors shall be allowed to make decisions of behalf of the Association outside of scheduled quarterly meetings as urgent needs may arise by a simple majority vote of the Board of Directors or the majority of all votes if voting privileges are extended to the Area Directors. Such decisions shall be entered into the minutes of the Association.

Section 2
The Board of Directors shall meet a minimum of once each quarter at a time, place, and method (teleconference is permitted) designated by the Board of Directors. At least one quarterly meeting per year shall be open to the general membership. The general membership meeting shall be posted a minimum of 30 days in advance via written notification or on the Association’s website and shall take place on the first quarterly meeting of the new fiscal year.

Section 3
New Area Directors shall be nominated by any current Area Director or Board member. The Board of Directors shall vote on the acceptance of each new Area Director. Area Directors are expected to attend the regular Board meetings, and will have voting privileges as determined by the Board of Directors. The number of Area Directors in a region may vary according to the number of members in that region, or as the Board deems necessary for growth of the Association.

Article VI

Activities

Section 1

Candidates for office shall be elected by a majority vote of the general membership present at the first quarterly meeting of the fiscal year during an Association election year. Officers will serve for a two year term. If any officer is not able to complete a full term, the Board of Directors shall appoint a replacement for the balance of the original two year term until the next election cycle.

The Nominating Committee, headed by the immediate Past President, shall prepare a slate of candidates for each office and file the same with the Secretary by August 1st. All candidates will have been contacted beforehand and will have agreed to accept the nomination if nominated. All candidates must have been a member of the Association for a minimum of six months.

Nominations may be made from the floor during the open general membership meeting provided the nominees have consented to serve if nominated.

Section 2

Matters that may come before the Association at any time may be submitted to the membership in a vote taken by mail. Determination of matters to be submitted to the membership shall be made by the Board of Directors. A question so submitted shall be decided by the majority of members voting and shall be binding upon the Association.

Section 3

The fiscal year of the Association shall begin August 15th.

Sections 4

The Association Officers shall be responsible for submitting a periodic newsletter to the general membership in a form and frequency consistent with the capabilities of the Association.

Section 5

The annual dues for all categories of membership shall be decided by the Board of Directors. The dollars dues and fees shall require a majority vote of the Board members present at any given meeting.

Section 6

All individual Regular/Associate memberships will be for one or two years. Renewals shall be due and payable on the first or second year anniversary of the current membership inception date; whichever is applicable. All members will receive a grace period of 60 days from the expiration of the membership before they are dropped from the membership rolls.

Section 7 (Awards)

Awards:

There shall be five awards given periodically or yearly by the Association at the annual Banquet:

The Youngest Bowhunter Award- This award shall be made to the youngest member of the Association to harvest a deer in the state of Mississippi during the regular hunting season of the fiscal year with a vertical bow and arrow. The youngest bowhunter may be no more than sixteen years of age. In the case of a tie, the earliest reporting date will receive the award. As an exception to the membership requirement for this award, any child may be eligible for this award as long as either parent is a member the Association. This exception shall only apply to those parents who establish Association membership prior to the child harvesting the qualifying deer.

Special Service Award- This award will be given to the person of persons having performed exceptional service for the Association during the past year or years. Nominees for this award must receive approval by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Hall of Fame Award- This award will be given to the person or persons having performed exceptional service in the area or areas of promoting bowhunting in Mississippi, wildlife management in Mississippi, or increasing the privileges of bowhunters.

Past President Award: This award shall be given to the Immediate Past President for their service during their time in office.

Big Buck Award-

This award shall be given to the member of the Association harvesting the highest scoring buck using the Pope and Young scoring system during the regular hunting season of the fiscal year with a vertical bow and arrow. In the case of a tie, the earliest reporting date shall receive the award.

Regulations for the Big Buck Award:

All entries, including a photo of antlers, must be made by letter to the Secretary by May 1st each year.

All entries must be measured at the next meeting following the May 1st deadline. A winner will be determined at that meeting.

All entries must have been taken in Mississippi during the regular hunting season.

All hunters making entries in this contest must have been a member of the Association since before the opening day if Mississippi archery season and have an up to date membership.

Items 1 & 2 shall not apply if the hunter submits a Pope and Young or Boone and Crocket certificate or certified scoring sheet to the Association.